


Raising a son is a two person job.

by IAmTheNightman98



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Modern AU, Neighbours AU, Slow Burn Romance, oath family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2020-02-16 02:24:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18682228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmTheNightman98/pseuds/IAmTheNightman98
Summary: Brienne and Jaime have been neighbours for three years and to say that they don’t see eye to eye would be an understatement.But when a 16 year old kid moves in across the hall from them, Jaime can’t help prying, asking too many questions, and somehow getting them wrapped up in his life.





	1. Burnt Toast.

**Author's Note:**

> I suck at summaries. Essentially this is Jaime and Brienne unwittingly becoming Oath Parents but in a modern AU. 
> 
> This chapter is very brief, so that I can get a feel for whenever it gets enough interest for it to be worth developing into a full length fic, so please let me know what you think!

 

Brienne grits her teeth angrily as she tugs her robe tightly around herself in an attempt to stave off the morning chill.  

 

The fire alarm in her apartment complex has been sounded for the third time this week, and she is less than pleased with the fact she has had to drag herself out of the warmth of her bed at 6 am and into the freezing street because of it. Who in their right mind gets up at that time anyways? And why in the name of the seven do they have to set the fucking fire alarms off?

 

She takes a deep breath to calm herself, sensing that she could snap into a fit of rage at any moment. 

 

The twenty or so other residents of the building mill around the street. Some chat to one another, some are occupied with their phones, some smoke. But all of them have one thing in common- they’re pissed off. 

 

All but one, that is.  

 

Jaime Lannister.  

 

He’s dressed in dark slacks and a crisp white shirt. His hair is perfectly styled, flowing gently to the sides of his cleanly shaven face. Brienne is sure that he must be some kind of robot, because real people aren’t that well put together at this time of day. On the first morning when the alarm sounded, she’d accused him of being the culprit, since he’d waltzed out of the building like he’d just stepped onto a red carpet. She thought that maybe he’d don’t it on purpose, just to gather everyone and remind them of his perfection. 

 

She has lived across the hall from Jaime for three years and their relationship has been… unusual to say the least. 

 

For the first six months, she never saw him, only heard him though the wall. More specifically, she heard him having sex. Very, very loudly. She’d seen the woman in question once or twice, she was tall, slim and had golden flowing hair.  That was her first indication of who Jaime was as a person. He liked pretty things. Petite women with expensive taste, who sound like porn stars in bed. 

 

She did not think they would get along at all. 

 

Then, they’d met.  She’d gotten home after a long day of work and climbed the seven flights of stairs to get up to her level. As she pushed open the stairwell door, she heard a string of profanities followed by the sound of keys being dropped to the floor, and that’s when she saw him. 

 

He crouched down to pick up his keys then turned back to face her.  He looked exhausted. His hair was long and limp against his face and he looked like he hadn’t shaved in weeks. The bags under his eyes appeared almost painfully heavy. He dressed in old, ragged looking clothes and was nothing like how she pictured him to be. 

 

He didn’t have a right hand.  

 

The wrist was covered with a tight fitting medical bandage. Whatever had happened, it had been recent.  

 

She must’ve stared for a little too long as his face twisted into a disgusted grimace. “Can I help you?” He spat angrily. 

 

“N-no. Sorry.” She stammered. “Can I help you?” She said, but without the sarcasm.  

 

“No. I don’t need any fucking help so fuck off and stop staring, you giant.” He practically yelled.  

 

She tried not to take it personally.  ‘Giant’ was amongst the more tame of the insults that had been hurled at her, and he was clearly going through something. But the words still stung. 

 

Eventually, when she saw glimpses of him in the hallway or parking lot, she noticed that he was starting to look a little better. She realised that when his hair was well groomed and he wasn’t wearing old sweats, he was actually stunningly handsome.  His attitude never improved throughout the years however. She imagined that he would never stop being bitter with her for their first encounter, even though she hadn’t really done anything wrong. 

 

He was, and still is, rude to her at any given opportunity, yet somehow, the nature of his insults changed. Instead of muttering insults under his breath, he began saying them to her face with a smirk, his eyes lighting up when she retorted back.  It seems that he gets a kick out of teasing and taunting her. 

 

It is frustrating as all hell.  

 

It definitely isn’t the highlight of her day. 

 

She rolls her eyes aggressively as he saunters towards her. “You’re much uglier at this time of day, wench.” He says with a grin, looking her up and down. 

 

“Fuck off, Jaime.” She grumbles.  

 

“Good one.” He says sarcastically. 

 

She’s too tired for anything witty. 

 

“Do we know who’s doing this?” He asks, glancing down at the expensive looking watch on his wrist. 

 

It has always perplexed her that he spends his money on lavish personal items and continues to live in the same shitty old apartment building. Although having said that, Brienne is thirty five years old and still hasn’t gotten round to moving out of what was supposed to be her starter apartment.  

 

“I just assumed it was you, since you’re the only one that gets up at this time.” She mutters dryly. 

 

“Well I assumed it was you, since our floor has started smelling like burnt toast in the mornings.”

 

She snorts a laugh out. She kickboxes four times a week and hasn’t eaten a carb in years. If anyone is going to be burning toast, it’s not her.  

 

“All clear.” She hears the fire marshal yell from the building’s entrance, indicating that the tenants may re-enter.  Thank the seven. The small gathering of people begin to filter into the apartment block, as Brienne waits impatiently to get through. Jaime, for some reason, waits with her.  

 

“Cute slippers.” He teases her under his breath and her lips form a scowl. 

 

Eventually, they manage to trudge back up to their floor, but as Brienne is pushing the hallway door open, Jaime grabs her by the wrist and pulls her back into the stairwell. 

 

“What are you doing? Unhand me.” She hisses but he shushes her. 

 

“Look, someone’s going into apartment 7C. I thought I heard someone a few days ago but I wasn’t sure.” He whispered, pressing his face up to the small window,so she couldn’t have seen even if she had wanted to. 

 

7C had been empty for years, leaving them as the only two tenants on their floor, but a new neighbour didn’t even crack the top ten list of things she cared about right now. “So?” She sighs.  

 

“So, he must be the one making the hallways smell of burnt toast and setting off the fire alarms!” He says as though he were a detective cracking a case. 

 

“Jaime. We don’t even know if those two things are related.” She groaned. If she hurries, she might be able to squeeze in an extra half an hour of sleep before she has to get up for work. She doesn’t have time for this. 

 

“There’s only one way to find out.” He fires back with a devilish smirk. Before she can protest, he’s pushing the door open excitedly and practically skipping towards the apartment. 

 

She follows him, purely for the reason that if 7C were the culprit of the fire alarms she would know who’s teeth to knock out if it happens again. 

 

Jaime taps on the door with his knuckles and they wait. She’s about to give up and go back to her own apartment when the door swings open. Before them stands a very young looking boy. Her eyes glance to Jaime and he’s already looking at her with confusion, then they both look back to the boy.  

 

“Do you live here?” He Jaime says sceptically.  

 

The boys eyes go wide with fear as he glances between Jaime and Brienne. She isn’t surprised, since they are both at least a head taller than him and she was most definitely glaring. “Y-yes, sir.” He stutters.  His voice is a little deeper than she expected, so she estimates that he is about 15. She wonders if he thinks Jaime is some kind of building manager on account of his suit. Which would make her his odd, gawky, robe wearing companion. 

 

“Have you been setting off the fire alarms?” Jaime asks, cutting straight to the chase. 

 

The boy looks as though he might burst into tears. “Um. It was an accident. I can’t turn the setting on my toaster down.  I’m really sorry. Please don’t kick me out. I didn’t mean to.” He stammers and Jaime turns to her, laughing in disbelief.  

 

“Relax, kid. We’re your neighbours.” He says through his laughter. 

 

“Oh.” 

 

“I’m Jaime and I live in 7B and Brienne lives in 7A. “ He explained and the boy nodded. 

 

“I’m Podrick.” He says, smiling slightly.  He then looks up with worry at Jaime once more. “Am I going to get in trouble?” 

 

Jaime laughs. “The only thing you need to worry about is this woman right here. She has the temperament a bear with a sore head if she doesn’t get her beauty sleep.”

 

Brienne scowls at Jaime, then realises that she hasn’t actually said a word since he opened the door. “It’s very inconvenient.” She snaps coldly.  

 

“See.” Jaime smirks. Podrick looks like he might smirk too, so she shoots him a preemptive nasty glare and he stops.  

 

“Well I guess we will see you around. Just maybe not at 6 in the morning next time.” Jaime says with a laugh, and she’s very grateful that the conversation is over. 

 

“Yeah, I guess. Bye then. It was um, nice to meet you. I really am sorry by the way.” The kid fumbles over his words like a fool. 

 

Once the door is closed, Jaime turns to her with his eyes wide in shock and a huge grin on his face.  

 

“What?” She grumbles. 

 

“What?” He repeats back in shock. “Don’t you find it intriguing that there’s a kid living alone in that apparent? What the hell is he doing there?”

 

She sighs and rolls her eyes. “First of all, we don’t know he’s a kid, he might just look young. Second, you don’t know that he lives alone. And third, I really don’t care.” 

 

He shakes his head and follows her to the doorway of the apartment. “Come on, he was clearly no older than sixteen at most.  And these apartments are only single bedrooms.”

 

“Some people share single rooms.” She mutters. 

 

She spent a great deal of her early childhood living in a single bedroom apparent with her father, after her mother’s medical bills had sent him spiralling into debt. 

 

“No, I’ve definitely only heard one person.” He insisted. 

 

“Like I said, I still don’t care.” She reminded him.  

 

He grinned at her once more. “Not even a little bit?” He teased. 

 

“Nope.” She snapped curtly, opening the door to her apartment.  “Now, if you will excuse me?” She said, gesturing for him to leave. 

 

“Well I’m going to find out what he’s doing here.” Jaime pouted like a child who hadn’t got his way. 

 

“Fine. Just leave me out of it. I don’t want anything to do with this kid, understand?” 

 

He smiles at her knowingly. 

 

Infuriatingly. 

 

“Sure thing, wench.” 


	2. Why are you here?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaime and Brienne get to know their neighbour a little better and Jaime learns why Brienne is so reluctant to get involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After 8x4 I am in desperate need of fics where Jamie is soft and sweet, not a human trash can.

The sound of someone hammering at the front door startles Jaime from his peaceful sleep. The noise startles him so much that it takes him a moment to realise what’s going on. He glances at his watch which sits on the bedside table and sees that it is close to 6am, a little later than he would usually sleep in, then slides out of bed. 

 

He quickly pulls on his luxurious red robe, which is a lot harder than it looks with only one hand. “Alright, I’m coming.” He grumbles as he walks through his apartment, trying and failing to fasten the tie around his waist. 

 

“Seven Hells, I’m coming.” He yells, as the knocking doesn’t stop. 

 

When he opens the door, he is taken aback slightly when he realises that there is nobody at his door, but laughs at the realisation that the noise is coming from across the hall, where Brienne is hammering her fist against Podrick’s door. 

 

He quickly makes more of an effort to bring his robe around himself, lest she get an eyeful of his tight black underwear, then crosses the hall towards her. “What on earth are you doing?.”

 

She whips her head round to glare at him. “I can smell burning and I swear to the Seven that if he sets off the fire alarms, I will strangle him.” She snaps. He can tell she isn’t joking, but he laughs anyways. 

 

“So you thought you’d wake us all up anyways?” He chuckles. His eyes glance briefly down her body, earning him another glare. She is wearing her pale blue robe and slippers, her hair is stuck up from sleep and she has heavy bags under her eyes. It doesn’t stop her from finding her enticing. 

 

Jaime wouldn’t say he has a crush on Brienne, since he isn’t a twelve year old girl, but… she’s intriguing. He’s never met a woman quite like her, she’s somehow both brash and reserved, composed yet tempramental. And he certainly would like to feel those strong thighs clamped around him, pinning him to his bed. He would never pluck up the courage to act on his desires, out of a fear that she would tear his head off, but it was fun to imagine. 

 

She turns to hammer on the door once more and, without thinking, he reaches up to grab her wrist. She turns and scowls at him immediately, so he drops her arm quickly, but she makes no move to knock again. 

 

“What’s the plan if he answers?” 

 

“I’m going to take the batteries out of his smoke detectors.” She snaps curtly. 

 

Jaime laughs again. “You can’t do that, you mad woman. He’s a kid!” 

 

She opens her mouth to respond, but is cut off when the door swings open to reveal Podrick standing in a towel, looking damp from the shower and very confused. “Watch me.” She snarls, with an almost devilish grin that sends shivers down Jaime’s spine. With that, she pushes past Podrick and into the apartment. 

 

Podrick stammers in surprise as Brienne enters the apartment and makes a beeline for the smoke detector in the kitchen and Jaime can only look at him with an apologetic shrug before following her. When he catches up, she is reaching up to the ceiling in a move that causes her robe to slip open and reveal a deep vee of skin down her chest. 

 

“Hold on.” He chuckles, moving past her to look at the toaster. He glances back as she huffs in annoyance, then notices her cheeks turn a deep red colour as she looks down then pulls her robe more tightly around herself. 

 

He unplugs the toaster from the wall, picks it up, then turns it upside down over the sink, which sends a shower of charred crumbs into the basin. “There.” He says, slightly proud of himself. “Problem solved. No more burning.” He also turns the temperature dial down from a four to a one, for good measure.

 

At this point, he looks back over to Podrick, who is standing in the doorway, glancing back and forth between the two strangers in his kitchen. 

 

“You were going to set the fire alarms off again.” Brienne says curtly, by way of explanation. 

 

“Sorry, ma’am.” Podrick stammers, and Jaime laughs loudly when Brienne glares at him. 

 

“Don’t worry about it. We should be getting out of your hair.” Jaime places a gentle hand on Brienne’s waist, guiding her towards the door, but stops when he notices something interesting on the counter. He nudges Brienne and gestures for her to look. 

 

“What are those?” He asks Podrick with a smirk, gesturing to what looks suspiciously like a collection of school books. School books that you would assume an adult living alone would not own. 

 

Podrick’s eyes flare wide in shock and he scrambles to gather the books in his arms, sending papers flying to the floor. “I um… work in a school.” He stutters. “Yes, that’s what these are for. I’m a teacher. Teaching assistant, I mean.” 

 

Jaime quirks his eyebrow to Brienne. Surely he can’t be the only one not buying this. She narrows her eyes at Podrick momentarily, before huffing out a sigh and shaking her head. “I’m leaving. Don’t burn anything else.” She snaps, before quickly leaving the room. 

 

“Sorry about her. I’ll let you get ready for work.” He tells Podrick with a knowing smirk, then follows Brienne. 

 

He catches her as she is opening the door to her apartment. “Hold on.” He insists and she turns to face him with a sigh. “I told you he’s a kid!” He says triumphantly. 

 

“And I told you, I don’t care.” She rolls her eyes, turning back towards her apartment. 

 

“Wait! Aren’t you curious about who’s looking after him?” 

 

She sighs deeply once more. “Jaime, it’s really not my concern.”

 

He resists the urge to show his annoyance with her. This whole, _ I don’t care about anyone or anything and I’m miserable all the time _ act, had grown old. Surely she had to be a little concerned for the unaccompanied minor living across the hall?

 

“What if he burns the building down? Or has a huge party with all of his friends? Then it would be your concern.” 

 

He can see her face relax as she thinks for a moment. “Fuck it.” She mutters under her breath. “Alright, fine. We can go round and talk to him after work this evening. Does seven work?”

 

“Seven works perfectly. It’s a date.” He teases, relishing in her blush that follows. 

 

-x- 

 

Jaime feels a brief rush of anxiety as he stands outside Brienne’s door at five to seven that evening. He really needs to get a grip of himself. Sure, he’d teased her that it was a date, but all they were actually doing was checking on the neighbour kid. 

 

She clearly despises him, he’d have to work pretty hard to convince her a date with him, but he loves the idea of a challenge. He’s never had to work hard for much in his life before. 

 

Just as he raises his hand to knock on her door, it swings open. “Oh, hey.” She says in surprise. 

 

“I was about to-”

 

“Let’s just get this over with.” She sighs, leaving her apartment and closing the door behind her. As she bushes past him, he drops his eyes down to her ass, clad in tight blue jeans. 

 

She knocks on Pod’s door with her knuckles then drops her hands to her hips as they wait. She glances over at him briefly, then looks away, then looks back again. “Stop looking at me like that.” She hisses. 

 

“Like what?” He smirks, raking his eyes down her body in an exaggerated fashion. She blushes deeply and glares at him, but she cannot reply as Podrick opens the door before she gets the chance. 

 

“Hi?” He says awkwardly, glancing between the two. 

 

Jaime glances to Brienne, who nods for him to talk first. “Can we come in?”

 

The size and shape of Podrick’s apartment is almost identical to Jaime’s, and he assumes Brienne’s too, but that’s where the similarities end. The decor of the living room screams teenage boy working on a tight budget as the furniture is very cheap looking, but there’s a modern gaming console beneath an expensive television. Clearly he has his priorities. They follow him through into the living room, where Brienne sits down on the sofa with a huff, not stopping to ask Podrick if he minds. 

 

Jamie shrugs his shoulders and sits down beside her and Podrick shifts uncomfortably on his feet. “Can I get you something to drink?” He asks nervously, but Brienne cuts him off. 

 

“No. We won’t be here long. Sit down.” 

 

Charming as ever. 

 

Jaime rolls his eyes at her brashness and smiles at Podrick, who perches on the edge of the chair beside the sofa. Jaime and Brienne glance at one another briefly before Jaime speaks. “Podrick, we’re here because we’re concerned.” He started, trying his best not to sound like a patronising school therapist. “We need to ask you something, and it will be a lot easier if you don’t lie to us-“

 

“Oh for Heaven’s sake, how old are you, boy?” Brienne cuts him off abruptly. He glares at her and she glares back at him, then they both turn to look back at Podrick. 

 

His eyes go wide with fear and he starts ringing his hands uncomfortably. “Um, twenty.” He says, so unsure of himself that it almost sounds like a question. 

 

“Podrick.” Jaime warns softly. 

 

“I’m twenty.” He insists.

 

Brienne stands up from the sofa abruptly. “Forget this.” She snaps, but as she is about to walk away he speaks again.

 

“I’m sixteen.” He practically whispers.

 

Jaime cant resist flashing Brienne a smug grin as she sits back down beside him. “And you live here alone, yes?” He clarifies and Podrick nods. 

 

“Please don’t tell anyone.” He blurts out. 

 

Jaime sighs briefly. “Why don’t you start by telling us why you’re here?”

 

“I um.” He hesitates, but Jaime nods reassuringly, trying to counterbalance Brienne’s icy glare. “I pay the rent in cash off the books and in return the landlord never asked to see any identification.”

 

Jaime looks at Brienne who has her eyes narrowed in scepticism. “Where are your parents?” She asks in a tone that’s suddenly so soft Jaime is taken aback. 

 

“They died in an accident when I was young.” 

 

Brienne’s jaw tightens and he can see her fingernails digging into her palm. “I’m sorry.” She glances up at Jaime and her expression is so pained he regrets asking her to come with him. “Where have you been since then?”

 

“In and out of care homes and foster families, mostly. I moved in with an uncle at 14, but he died too and well, here I am.” 

 

“Hasn’t anyone from the local authority wondered where you are?” Jaime cuts in, as Brienne looks like she might cry. 

 

“I don’t think anyone ever cared enough to check.” He says with a gentle shrug. Brienne lets out an abrupt noise, like her breath has caught in her throat, and Jaime resists the urge to rest his hand on her knee.

 

Then, unexpectedly, she stands up. “I have to leave.” She mumbles before practically fleeing the room. Once the door swings shut behind her, he turns back to Podrick. 

 

“Sorry about her. It wasn’t anything you said.” He lies. Really, he doesn’t know Brienne at all. He has no idea what’s made her run like that. 

 

“Are you going to tell on me?” Podrick asks and Jaime is reminded of just how young he is. The right thing to do would be to report him to the authorities so that someone responsible can look after him. “I really don’t want to go back into care.” He adds quietly. 

 

Jaime sighs deeply and runs his hand through his hair. “Look, kid. I can’t make any promises for her, but I won’t tell anyone.” Podrick smiles and nods gratefully. “But I’m going to write down my number in case you ever need anything. Or failing that, I’m right across the hall.”

 

Jaime knows why he wants to help this kid so badly. All his life he’s been the bad guy. The villain. He’s the one who has to deliver budget cuts at work. He’s the one that they avoid in the halls. He’s the asshole that fucked his step sister and tore their family apart. Ever since the accident that caused him to lose his hand, he’s been a bitter, miserable old man, who’s only source of enjoyment comes from teasing his neighbour. Just for once, he wants to put some good into the world. 

 

Sure, his motivation may be a little self serving, but as long as the kid is getting looked after then he figures it’s okay. 

 

Before he can feel good about himself, however, there’s the issue of Brienne. So when he leaves Podrick’s apartment, he tentatively knocks on her door. 

 

“Wench, it’s me. Open up.” He calls after a moment. When the door opens, he can tell that she’s been crying. He’s about to ask if he can come in but she steps out, closing the door behind her. “What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing.” She snaps and he narrows his eyes. 

 

“Are you angry at me?”

 

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” She huffs and he smiles warmly, but her glare doesn’t soften. 

 

She sighs deeply and he can tell that she is blinking away fresh tears. “I see a lot of myself in Podrick. His story and mine, they’re very similar. Except when I was his age and living alone, I didn’t have neighbours looking out for me. Nobody cared. Nobody asked. Nobody got involved.” She says bitterly, gritting her teeth afterwards. 

 

He understands what she’s saying in an instant.

 

_ I had to do it alone and so should he.  _

 

“Do you think your life would’ve been easier if you had people looking out for you?”

 

“I’ve survived this far, haven’t I?” She takes another deep breath before speaking again. “Look, you can do what you want, but I meant what I said. I don’t want any involvement, okay?”

 

Jaime nods slowly. “Okay.” He agrees with a sigh. “Sorry.”

 

As she turns to re-enter her apartment, he feels a pang of guilt in his chest for upsetting her. He also hates the fact that whatever friendship they may have had has been set back significantly, meaning his pipe dreams of asking her out on a date are getting further away. 

 

Gods, this kid had better be worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. Forced into caring.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Pod gets sick, Brienne has to re-evaluate her insistence that she doesn’t care what happens to him.

Brienne manages to convince herself for two months that she isn’t going to get involved with Jaime’s need to look after Podrick. 

 

For two whole months, she’s cordial and neighbourly if she sees either of them in the hallway, but when she’s in the safety of her own apartment, she can simply pretend they don’t exist. 

 

Except, there’s one problem with their building and that is that the walls are very, very thin. She can practically hear everything from the apartments either side of her. Over the years, the various noises from Jaime living his life have become something that blends into the background, but Podrick, she’s still getting used to. 

 

Maybe it’s the fact that she’s lonely, or curious, or just plain bored, but she’s the type of person that notices things. Which is why she has noticed that for the past three days, Podrick hasn’t been to school. 

 

He usually gets up and leaves half an hour before she does, on Monday and Tuesday however , she heard him shut off his alarm but never leave the apartment. Then, on Wednesday, when her office building is closed whilst some maintenance takes place and she has to work from home, she hears him shuffling around his apartment all throughout the day. The only logical conclusion is that he’s stopped going to school. Two months alone must have finally taken its toll on him. 

 

Later that evening, she has to remind herself that she doesn’t actually care about what he does whilst she is looking up the local schools in King’s Landing and checking whether they’re on a scheduled break or not.

 

Then, she has to remind herself that she absolutely isn’t getting involved when she realises that there’s no scheduled break. Then again as she trudges over to Jaime’s apartment.

 

As she knocks on Jaime’s door, she almost considers going back home and forgetting the entire thing, but before she can, he swings the door open and greets her with a puzzled look. 

 

“Oh, hey?” He says with a confused smirk. 

 

“Were you expecting someone else?”

 

He laughs. “In the three years that we’ve been neighbours you have never once knocked on my door. So I think it’s safe to say that, yes, I was expecting somebody else.” 

 

She huffs and rolls her eyes. “He’s stopped going to school.”

 

“Podrick?”

 

“Of course.” She mutters in annoyance. 

 

“Oh, um. Why?”

 

“How should I know?” She snaps. She just wants to tell him about the kid and leave. 

 

He shrugs his shoulders and steps out of his apartment. “Well I guess we’d better check on him then?”

 

Her eyes flare wide with anger. “We?” She repeats back to him. “Who said anything about we?”

 

“That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” He teases with a devilish smirk. “You’re curious about what’s going on with him.”

 

Brienne narrows her eyes into a scowl, but follows him as he knocks on Podricks door. When the kid eventually answers, he’s standing in his robe. His eyes are red and puffy, his cheeks are blotchy and his skin is practically grey. 

 

“Are you alright?” Jaime says, recoiling, and Podrick nods his head softly. 

 

Then he sneezes. 

 

Jaime chuckles softly. “You’re sick.” Brienne summises. So that’s why he’s missing school. She briefly feels bad for him, before reminding herself that she shouldn’t care. It’s none of her concern.

 

“It’s nothing, really.” Podrick insists, then sneezes again. Brienne steps back, she is not going to risk getting sick too. 

 

Podrick sniffles and wipes his nose with a crumpled up wad of tissues clutched in his hand and Jaime huffs out a sigh. “Have you been to the doctor?”

 

He shakes his head. “It really is just a cold.” 

 

“Okay. But you’re taking painkillers, right?” 

 

Podrick looks awkwardly to the ground and shuffles his feet. “Well um… the pharmacy is on the other side of town, so...”

 

Jaime sighs again. “Leave it with us.” He smiles warmly. 

 

The kid shakes his head and tries to refuse, but Jaime insists, so Podrick thanks them profusely before closing the door and leaving them standing in the hallway. 

 

“You’ve got painkillers, right?” He asks her with a smirk. 

 

She groans in frustration. Of course he was just assuming that she’d have some.

 

As she lets herself back into her apartment to check her bathroom cabinet for supplies, she realises that he’s following her. She sighs as she looks over her shoulder at him. “I didn’t say you could come in.” 

 

“I know.” He shrugs back. 

 

Thankfully, he stands in the doorway to the bathroom whilst she rifles through the medicine cabinet, but cranes his neck in when she sighs loudly. “Unless you think he wants painkillers for menstrual cramps, I don’t have anything.”

 

Jaime grimaces and shakes his head. “Don’t say menstrual.”

 

She glares back at him. “Are you a teenage boy?”

 

He laughs as he walks back towards her living room. “Well I guess we’re going to have to drive to the pharmacy?” 

 

“You. Not ‘we’. I’m not a part of this.” She reminds him harshly. 

 

He turns back to face her, flashing her an enormous pair of puppy dog eyes. “Are you really going to make a poor, one handed old man go all the across town all by himself?”

 

“Yes.” She mutters. 

 

-x-

 

“Your music taste is terrible, wench.” He tells her as he rifles through the CDs in her glove compartment. “Who still listens to CDs anyways? It’s the twenty first century.”

 

He’s been in her car for a grand total of four minutes and she already regrets her decision. She’d insisted that they take her car, because she knew that if he drove there was no way they’d only be making one stop, but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly why she’d said yes in the first place. 

 

“There’s nothing wrong with appreciating the classics, Jaime.” She mutters, trying to keep her eyes on the road instead of watching Jaime pulling every CD out and making a complete mess. 

 

Eventually, he settles on a Whitesnake album and pops it into the console. She rolls her eyes playfully as he flicks through the songs. 

 

“Were you even born when this album came out?” He teases, as the intro to Here I Go Again plays through the speakers. 

 

“I was three, I think.” He goes silent for a moment and she can practically hear his thought process. “I’m thirty six, if you’re trying to work out how old I am.”

 

She grins as she looks over and sees a blush creeping over his cheeks. 

 

“Are we the same age?” She asks after a moment.

 

He chuckles softly and shakes his head. “I’m forty five.” 

 

He’s older than she thought he was, considering how good he looks. Suddenly, she’s blushing too and she doesn’t know why, but then the chorus of the song begins and Jaime starts belting out the words. And she laughs. Not a pity laugh out of awkwardness, she really laughs. 

 

It’s the kind of laugh that starts in her gut and bubbles up before she can suppress it. She throws her head back in laughter as he loudly sings the words off key. It’s carefree and youthful in a way that Brienne never allows herself to be. It’s brilliant. 

 

The rest of the journey passes far too quickly for Brienne’s liking. The time seems to fly by as they chat lightly and Jaime flicks through a few more songs, then they arrive at the pharmacy and Brienne groans when she remembers why they’re there. Hanging out with Jaime is a lot more interesting than she expected it to be, why do they have to be taking care of that fucking kid?

 

“You pick the painkillers, I’ll get him a few snack.” Jamie smirks as they enter the store, then flashes her a playful wink as he heads in the opposite direction, leaving Brienne feeling like a flustered schoolgirl. 

 

She tries to keep the blush from her cheeks and she selects a small assortment of medications, then waits by the checkout for Jaime to find her. When she sees him a few minutes later, she snorts out a laugh pile of items he is attempting to balance in the crook of his right arm. Through her laughter, she manages to help him unload his things onto the conveyor. He’s picked up two large gatorades, tissues, a hot water bottle, three DVDs and a big bag of candy. It’s quite an impressive haul for a man with one hand.

 

“A few snacks?” She teases, quirking her eyebrow. 

 

“What can I say, I’m  _ attentive _ .” He retorts, leaning in close and dropping his voice into a low, almost sultry tone that he had no business using in public. Brienne coughs awkwardly and smooths down the non existent wrinkles of her shirt and he grins widely. 

 

When the cashier tells them their total, she moves to take her card from her pocket, but he stops her, delicately circling her wrist with his fingers. “I’ve got it.” He says softly. 

 

Throughout the entire journey home, Brienne feels her wrist tingling from where he had touched her. The conversation is light and casual and she tries to keep her eyes on the road, but can’t resist stealing glances at Jaime. 

 

He’s the type of man that you’d expect to see on the cover of a magazine. His dark blonde hair is tousled in a way that seems effortless and his cheekbones are perfectly sculpted. He’s toned, but not too muscular, and tall, but not too tall. He’s beautiful. He’s everything that Brienne is not. 

 

It’s rare that Brienne is actively attracted to men, given her appalling history with dating, but for some reason, at some point within the past hour, Jaime Lannister has become irresistible. The fact that he’s such a flirt doesn’t help either. She knows that he’s only doing it to tease her, but it doesn’t stop her chest from fluttering.

 

-x-

 

“So, I was thinking…” Jaime drawls as they stand in Podricks doorway, waiting for him to answer. She turns and raises an eyebrow for him to go on. “Maybe after we’ve dropped this off we could um, hang out? You know, watch a movie or something?” 

 

Brienne’s breath catches in her throat as he smirks at her. 

 

They’re both single, unattached, grown adults. She doesn’t have much experience with this type of thing, but she knows what  _ watching a movie  _ is code for, especially at this age. He might as well just cut to the chase. She can’t really understand why, but he’s clearly making a pass at her. 

 

She has half a mind to suggest they do away with the pretense of watching a movie and just fuck, since she hasn’t gotten laid in almost a year, but she doesn’t. Jaime is intriguing and she actually quite enjoys hanging out with him. “Um, yeah. A movie. I’d like that.” She tells him, trying and failing to sound sultry. 

 

He grins back at her then laughs awkwardly as he knocks on the door again. “Open up, kid. We haven’t got all night.” 

 

Still no answer. 

 

“We could just go in and leave the bags on the kitchen counter?” She suggest, trying to stay casual and not like she can’t wait to tear his clothes off, but before she’s even finished speaking, Jaime is opening the door. 

 

When the door opens, they see Podrick laying on his sofa with his face half buried in the pillows. “Shit.” Jaime mutters as they approach him. He’s sleeping, but Brienne can tell he looks way worse than he did before. His hair is matted to his forehead with sweat and his skin looks pale and clammy. “You alright, kid?” Jaime asks, but Podrick only groans softly in response. 

 

Jaime grimaces as he moves the bucket that Podrick has thrown up into away from the sofa and into the kitchen and Brienne crouches down and presses the back of her hand against his cheek. “He’s burning up.” She tells Jaime quietly. “Would you mind bringing some water and a damp cloth?” 

 

She sits on the floor beside Podrick’s head as Jaime ventures into the rest of the apartment, and attempts to brush his damp hair away from his face. “Bring blankets to, he’s shivering.” She calls after Jaime. 

 

Whilst she waits for Jaime, a lump forms in her throat as she thinks about the first time she had gotten sick when she lived alone. She’d run away from her hometown of Evenfall after her father’s new wife had moved in with them and rendered her life a living hell. The cramped, hideous studio apartment she was living was a breeding ground for disease, so it was no surprise when she’d gotten sick after only a couple of weeks. 

 

With a shudder, she recalls how she’d been sicker than she had ever been in her life. She’d cried for days, convinced that she would never get better again, but eventually, she stopped crying. She realised during that time how truly alone she was. There was no sense in crying, because there was nobody listening.

 

Even now, almost twenty years later exactly, she can still feel the dull ache in her chest at the thought, and the idea that Podrick might be feeling that pain too is somehow enough to snap her out of her self-centred insistence that he should have to face the world alone. She doesn’t imagine that much will change, as she would still like to avoid the responsibility of being some kind of career, but she vows to help him at least for as long as he is sick. 

 

“You’ll be alright.” She tells him quietly as they wait for Jaime to come back. 

 

“Thanks mum.” He mumbles in his delirious state and tears spring to Brienne’s eyes. She sniffles and wipes them away quickly. 

 

When Jaime returns, she manages to coax Podrick into taking some painkillers and drinking a little water whilst Jaime tidies up the stray tissues, then covers Podrick with the quilt from his bedroom. Once they’ve finished, Brienne sighs softly and looks back and forth between Pod and Jaime. 

 

“I think I’m going to stay with him for a little while. Maybe we could take a rain check on the movie?” She tells him regretfully.

 

“Right. Yeah, sure.” Jaime fumbles awkwardly, she feels guilty when she sees the look of disappointment on his face, but then he perks up slightly. “I could stay with you?” He suggests.

 

She hesitates briefly. She doesn’t want to make him stay and waste the rest of his evening just so that they can keep an eye on Podrick. But on the other hand, Pod has already gone back to sleep and she would appreciate the company, so she shrugs her shoulders and smirks. “What DVD’s did you buy?”

 

-x- 

 

A few hours later, Jaime and Brienne sit on the floor in front of the sofa, on top of an assortment of cushions, watching the second Back To The Future film. They’d given up on trying to work out Podricks TV, so Jaime had grabbed his laptop from across the hall, but Brienne isn’t complaining as it means they have to sit a little closer together. 

 

Podrick groans slightly and shuffles in his sleep and Brienne whips round to face him. “Are you okay? What is it?”

 

Jaime chuckles softly. “Will you relax? He’s fine.” She narrows her eyes sceptically and checks Podrick’s temperature with the back of her hand. Then, satisfied that he’s alright, she settles back down to watch the film. 

 

After a few moments, Jaime makes a noise that sounds like a forced yawn, stretches his limbs awkwardly, then drapes his arm around Brienne’s shoulders. She turns to him with a playful smirk, as if to say ‘I can’t believe you actually just pulled that move on me’, but inches closer to his side anyways. 

 

The next thing she knows, she’s being startled awake by someone tapping on her shoulder. She inhales sharply and it takes a minute for her to register her surroundings. Jaime is asleep, curled into her side, and the unfamiliar floor is incredibly uncomfortable beneath her. She groans as she opens her eyes and turns around. 

 

When she does, she sees Podrick’s confused looking face staring back at her. “Um, hi?” He mumbles. 

 

She quickly detangles herself from Jaime, who stirs awake too. “Hey, kid. How are you feeling?” 

 

Podrick lets out and exaggerated groan and throws his head back onto the sofa. “I think he’s feeling better.” Jaime laughs from beside her. 

 

“I think I’m dying.” Podrick moans. 

 

Brienne laughs and shakes her head as she checks his temperature again, feeling relieved as it seems to be lower than before. “You’re going to be fine.”

 

“And you’ve got Florence Nightingale here to thank for that.” Jaime teases. 

 

Podrick blushes sheepishly at Brienne. “Thanks.” 

 

Suddenly feeling self conscious, Brienne shrugs her shoulders casually. “Don’t worry about it.” She mutters. “So, um, what time is it?”

 

She turns to Jaime who pulls out his phone and grimaces. “Gods, it’s half past one.” 

 

“Fuck, I have work in the morning.” She groans. 

 

“Me too.” 

 

Podrick shifts uncomfortably. “I’m really sorry. You didn’t have to stay, I would’ve been fine.”

 

“No no.” Brienne says quickly. “It’s alright.” She smiles warmly and Jaime smiles too, then runs his hand awkwardly through his hair. 

 

“We should probably leave?” 

 

“Probably.” She nods her head in agreement, unaware of why she suddenly feels so awkward. “Well, um, just make sure you keep drinking water and get some rest. You know where we are if you need us.” 

 

Podrick thanks them both again and trails off to bed as they let themselves out, then Brienne is left alone with Jaime in the corridor once more. 

 

He turns to her with a sly smirk. “So much for not caring.” He teases, nudging her playfully.

 

“Shut up.” She mutters, nudging him back. 

 

Gods, they’re like a pair of teenagers trying to flirt. 

 

Out of the corner of her eye she notices him trying to stifle a yawn, so she assumes that means there’s going to be a definite rain check on ‘movie’. It’s probably for the best, she’s exhausted too. He walks her to her door regardless, propping himself up against the wall as she lets herself in. 

 

“So I was thinking, I should probably get your number.” She can tell he’s trying to be suave, but it comes out a little fumbled. 

 

“Oh really?” She teases, causing him to blush.

 

“Um, yeah. Just in case something happens to Pod and I need to contact you. Or whatever. It’s fine either way.” He stammers quickly. 

 

She smirks softly as he flounders. “Jaime, I’m kidding. Pass me your phone.” 

 

-x- 

 

Later that night, when she’s finally showered, tucked up in bed and on the verge of sleep, she hears her phone ping from the nightstand. 

 

_ I had fun tonight. Maybe next time we hang out together it can be without a sick sixteen year old kid sleeping two feet away? ;-) x _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if anyone is still reading/ enjoying this fic!
> 
> Also I have no beta so please excuse any minor mistakes.


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